Rail tie and fastener.



. A., VALKELBBRG. RAIL TIE AND FAST-EINER. 'APPLICATION FILED ANJZ. 1913.

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yPatented May 27, 1913.

(lez' flo ALBERT VALKELBERG, OF ITEMAN, IDWA.

RAIL TIE AND FASTENER.

Spccicaton .of Letters Patent.

Patented May 27, 1913.

Application filed January 22, 1913. SeriaLNo. 743,680.

.To all whom t may concern.'

,/'Be it known. that I, Alinear; VALKELBERG,

,a citizen of the United States, residing at i lineman, in the county of Monroe and State of Iowa, have invented new and useful vlinproveinents in Rail Ties and Fasteners, of'

which the following is a specification.

The present invention has 'reference to vties and fasteners for railroad bridges, and

it proposes, briefly an improved structure which is designed for superposition directly upon the concrete piers with which such bridges `are .now generally constructed,

thereby rendering the entire bridge lire-,v

. sectionalviews taken on-the lines 2-2 and 3-3 of Fig. 1. I

ln *said drawing, 5 and 6 indicate, generally, two adjacent piers of a railroad bridge which Iriay be constructed, preferably of' concrete, in4 any suitable manner and may have'r any desired dimensions. Each pieris provided at its top with a pair of upstanding blocks 7 which are integral therewith and are arrangedin spaced alinement, the top faces of these blocks being fiat, and the side ,faces tapered, as shown. The distance between the blocks on each pier is dependent, more or. less upon that between the track rails 8,- while the distance between adjacent piers is more or rless dependent.

upon the length of the ties 9,'as will be un derstood. y A

The aforesaid ties 9 rest 'directly upon the flat tops of the blocks 7`, are preferably constructed of solid steel and are formed with sides, with longitudinal, upwardly projectl ing walls y11, so that they may be conside'red as ofapproxiniately angle or Lsection, the base portion ofea'c'htie having the same width as the upper faces of the said blofcks, A

As above stated, the ties may have any/suitable length, depending upon the distance between the piers, and they may be con nected together at their confronting ends, if desired, in any preferred manner. At their inner sides, adjacent the yblocks 7 they `are provided with groups of upstanding lugs or projections 12 which are formed integral with the bases -10 and are designed to act as keepers forV the hereinafter described fasteners 14. In the construction illustrated, three of these keepers are included in each group or series,-and each is under-cut at its inner side to provide a lat-eral or overhanging shoulder' 13, two of such keepers being located directly above the block and the inner side face with a longitudinal recess 15 which constitutes a seat for the adjacent portion of the rail base and lconforms to the shape thereof` as will be understood from Fig. 2, a portiono'f the said inner face being cut away above said seat, as indicated by the numeral 16, to provide an extension thereof wherein the web of the rail is received. The' remaining portion of the rail base rests in inwardly-extending seats 17 provided 4in the fasteners 141., whichA latter are preferably constituted of metal blocks that rest directly upon thebase of the tie and fit between the Wall 11 thereof and the keepers 12. They are formed at the opposite side lfrom the seats 17 with lateral tailpieccs 18 that extend beneath and are overhung by the shoulders 13 on the keepers l2,

the formation of vthe aforesaid seats 17 re sultingv in 'the production of -ongues or shoulders 19 which extend across the upper face of the rail base.

To anchor the ties to the piers, the latter. are preferably' provided, at ieach side vthere of, with a series of groups of vertical tit;- rods, three of such groups beingfshow in the present embodiment, wherein they are indicated by the numerals 20, 21 and QZ. These rods are embedded in the piers, during the construction of the latterand project upwardly through thel tops of the blocks 7, and throughregisterinfvopenings formed through the tie, the arrangement being such,

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wall 11; the rods 21, the central portion of the base 10; and the rods 22, the two keepl while the fasteners are locked against dis-' placement, the rods 22 passing through their tail-pieces as well as through the shoulder portions of the keepers.

Means are also provided for connecting` the opposed ties together so as to strengthen the bridge transversely, between the=piers, and such means are here shown as consisting of pairs ot' upper and lower horizontal cross-rods 23 and 24, the latter of which has upebent terminals 25 that extend through' the eyes 26 formed on the ends of the upper rod, one pair of these rods being located ad jacent each pier. as depicted in Fig.l 1. The third keeper and fastener in each group are braced and anchored by a rod 2T that passes through the tie base and through the shoulder and tail-piece of said keeper and fastener, said rod carrying nuts at its opposite ends.

Owing to the mounting of the ties directly upon the pier blocks. it will be understood that no flooring for the bridge is ref quired, which not only cheapens the cost of building the bridge but also prevents pedestrians trm Walking thercacross, since the passage along the ties is obstructed by the keepers and fasteners. piers are constructed of concrete, and the ties of metal, the entire bridge is rendered tire-proof, and is, moreover, virtually floodproof, since the concrete'piers may be sunk into the bed of the stream or river to any desired extent. Finally, the piers are reinforced by the various rods embedded therein, the ties are rigidly I'secured to said piers, and the rails'and fasteners locked to the ties.

Having described my invention,1claim:-

1. 1n a iioorless railroad bridge, the combination ot a pair ot spaced concrete piers; a pair of spaced ties mounted directly upon said piers at right-angles thereto and parallel with each other; reinforcing rods embedded in said piers and connected to said vties for anchoringthe latter to the former;

and rail-fastening means mounted on said ties for securing the rails in place thereon, certain of said rods-being connected to said fastening means for anchoring the same in place.

2. Inra, oorless railroad bridge, the coinbination of a pair oi' spaced concrete piers Also, as thel resaca? having vertical reinforcing rods embedded the-rein and projecting at their upper ends above the piers; a pair of 'perforated ties mounted directly upon said piers at rightangles .thereto and in spaced parallel rel ation;

to each other; and cooperating rail-engag ing fasteners and keepers therefor provided upon said tiesand having perforated inter-` locked portions, the'projecting ends of' Said rods extending through the perforations in said ties and in the said interlocked portions of said fasteners and keepers, for anchoring the ties to said piers and. the fasteners in place thereon. f

3. In a tloorless railroad bridge, the combination of a pair of spaced concrete piers; a pair of spaced ties mounted directly upon said piers at right-angles thereto and parallel with each other; rail-tastening means mounted on said ties for securing the rails in place thereon; pairs of upper and lower cross-rods connecting said ties together and having their corresponding ends mutually connected; and reinforcing devicesv embedded in said piers and connected to sai"I ties tor anchoring the latter to the formel,

4. In a tloorless railroad bridge, the combination of a' pair of spaced concretepiers; a pair of spaced tics mounted directly upon said piers at right-angles thereto and parallel with each other; rail-fastening means mounted on said ties for securing the rails in place thereon; pairs of upper and lower Amounted o-n said ties for securing the rails in place thereon; cross-rods connecting said ties; and reinforcing devices embedded in sald piers and connected to said ties forA anchoring the latter to the former, certain ot said reinforcing devices being connected to said fastening means tor` anchoring the same in place..

In testimony whereof 1 have hereunto set my han'd in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ALBERT VALKELBERG. Y

lVitnesses:

EVELYN WELSH, .,t KATHRYN Jsrrnnrs. 

